Abstract
The invention relates to a system for a drinks extraction machine using capsules introduced into a capsule cage, said system having slides allowing a capsule to be guided into the machine, held and then released in order to move into an extraction position, said cage being moved between a retracted position allowing the insertion of a capsule into the machine, and a position for the extraction of the drink wherein the capsule is held in the cage against an extraction plate, said slides being moved by actuating means in a coordinated manner with the cage, but with a delay, in such a way as to release the capsule introduced into the machine for the insertion thereof into the cage when said cage moves back into the extraction position thereof, and only to go back to the initial position once the used capsule has been extracted from the cage.
Claims
1. A system for a machine extraction of a drink from a capsule containing an extractable product for making the drink, wherein the system comprises: an extraction plate, slides for (i) permitting guided entry of the capsule into the machine, (ii) holding of the capsule within the machine to allow extraction of the drink from the extractable product, and (iii) releasing an extracted spent capsule into a spent capsule location, a capsule cage for receiving the capsule, the capsule cage being reciprocally axially displaceable relative to the extraction plate between a retracted position whereby the capsule cage is axially spaced from the extraction plate permitting introduction of the capsule into the machine, and an extraction position whereby the capsule is held in the capsule cage against the extraction plate for the extraction of the drink from the extractable product within the capsule, and a retarded actuation assembly operatively interconnecting the slides and the capsule cage, wherein the retarded actuation assembly causes delayed axial displacement of the slides between the distal and proximal positions thereof relative to the capsule cage in a coordinated manner in response to axial movement of the capsule cage between the extraction and retracted positions thereof in such a way as to enable a relative axial movement to occur between the capsule cage and the slides so as to (1) release the spent capsule from the capsule cage when the capsule cage is displaced away from the extraction position thereof with the slides being in the distal position thereof relative to the capsule cage and (2) only return into the proximal position thereof relative to the capsule cage once the spent capsule has been extracted from the capsule cage to be directed into the spent capsule location.
2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the retarded actuating assembly comprises at least one slot and at least one pin configured to move within the at least one slot between distal and proximal locations therewithin, wherein the slides are moved axially by the at least one pin when reaching the distal or proximal locations within the slot so as to establish the distal and proximal positions of the slides relative to the capsule cage, respectively.
3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the at least one pin is located on the capsule cage and the at least one slot is located on the slides.
4. The system according to claim 2, wherein the at least one pin is are located on the slides and the at least one slot is located on the capsule cage.
5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system further comprises a lever and a transmission assembly for transmitting movement of the lever to the capsule cage.
6. The system according claim 5, wherein the transmission assembly comprises at least gears and a rod.
7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system further comprises a capsule ejector which penetrates into the capsule cage during movement of the capsule cage so as to push the capsule out of the capsule cage.
8. An extraction machine for a drink, comprising at least one system for machine extraction of a drink from a capsule wherein the at least one system is the system as defined in claim 1.
9. The machine according to claim 8, in combination with at least one capsule containing a product for making a drink.
10. A method of extracting a drink which comprises: (a) introducing a capsule containing a product for making a drink into the machine according to claim 8 so that the capsule is positioned in the capsule cage thereof, and (b) operating the machine to extract the drink from the capsule.
Description
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
(1) The present invention will be better understood by the description of embodiments thereof and figures which show:
(2) FIG. 1 illustrates a general perspective view of a part of an extraction machine according to the invention with a capsule;
(3) FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the invention in a first position;
(4) FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the invention in a second position;
(5) FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the invention in a third position;
(6) FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the invention in a fourth position;
(7) FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the invention in a fifth position;
(8) FIG. 7 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the invention in a sixth position;
(9) FIG. 8 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the invention in a seventh position;
(10) FIG. 9 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the invention in an eighth position;
(11) FIG. 10 illustrates another cross-sectional side view of the invention in a position between the positions of FIGS. 2 and 3;
(12) FIG. 11 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the position of FIG. 5;
(13) FIG. 12 illustrates another cross-sectional side view of the invention in a position between the positions of FIGS. 6 and 7;
(14) FIG. 13 illustrates another cross-sectional side view of the invention in a position between the positions of FIGS. 8 and 9;
(15) FIG. 14 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of a second embodiment of the invention in a first position;
(16) FIG. 15 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of a second embodiment of the invention in a second position;
(17) FIG. 16 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of a second embodiment of the invention in a third position;
(18) FIG. 17 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of a second embodiment of the invention in a fourth position;
(19) FIG. 18 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of a second embodiment of the invention in a drink extraction position;
(20) FIG. 19 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of a second embodiment of the invention in a fifth position;
(21) FIG. 20 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of a second embodiment of the invention in a sixth position;
(22) FIG. 21 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of a second embodiment of the invention in a seventh position;
(23) FIG. 22 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of a second embodiment of the invention in an eighth position;
(24) In the following description, similar and/or identical elements in the different figures are identified by the same numerical references.
(25) FIG. 1 illustrates a general perspective view of a part of machine 1 used for the preparation of a drink, for example coffee, contained in a capsule 3. As is known in the prior art (see for example the publications cited above in the present application), capsule 3 is introduced into the machine and held in a capsule cage by operating a lever 2.
(26) FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional side view of the drink extraction system, once capsule 3 has been introduced into the machine, for example guided by a slot, according to a method known from the prior art, see in particular the explanations contained in WO 2012/143832.
(27) Capsule 3 is held opposite extraction plate 4 by mobile slides 5 according to principles known from the prior art, the guidance and the retention of capsule 3 being carried out at its flange.
(28) Also present in the machine is a capsule cage 6 which is displaced axially, moved by a set of rods 7 and gears 8, 9, gear 9 being connected to lever 2.
(29) In the position illustrated in FIG. 2, capsule 3 has been introduced into machine 1, lever 2 is in a raised position, i.e. cage 6 is in a position removed from extraction plate 4 so as to permit good positioning of the capsule 3 as illustrated.
(30) In FIG. 3, lever 2 (operated for example manually by a user) has started a rotational movement towards the left thereby being lowered. As a result of this rotation, gear system 8, 9 and rod 7 are acted upon and rod 7 pushes capsule cage 6 axially in the direction of plate 4 (towards the left of FIG. 3). Cage 6 comprises a pin 10 on each side (only one side is illustrated here) which is displaced in slot 11 of slide 5. In FIG. 2, the pin is located on the right-hand side of slot 11 (proximal side), whilst in FIG. 3 pin 10 is located on the left-hand side of slot 11 (distal side).
(31) The arrival of pin 10 in its distal position in slot 11 results in an axial displacement (towards the left of the figure) of slide 5, which releases the flange of capsule 3. At the same time, the capsule is “trapped” at its highest point in cage 6 and held in position against plate 4 and cage 6 as illustrated in FIG. 3.
(32) FIG. 4 illustrates another position of the system in which lever 2 has continued its rotation towards the left (its descent), the effect of which is to continue the displacement of cage 6 towards plate 4 (towards the left) and slides 5.
(33) Finally, FIG. 5 illustrates the machine ready for the extraction of the drink. Lever 2 is completely lowered, capsule 3 is completely contained in cage 6 and slides 5 have been pushed to the left of machine 1. The drink can be extracted by the injection of pressurised liquid (for example water), which exits at plate 4 once it has passed through the capsule and the product contained in the capsule, in accordance with extraction methods known for example from the prior publications mentioned above.
(34) Once the extraction of the drink is completed, it is a matter of opening the mechanism to release the used capsule and to prepare for the reception of a new capsule.
(35) FIG. 6 illustrates the start of the opening movement of the mechanism. For this purpose, lever 2 is moved upwards. Through gears 8, 9 and rod 7, this movement of lever 2 has the effect of retracting cage 6 towards the right of FIG. 6. The effect of this movement of the cage is that pins 10 are displaced towards the proximal side of slots 11, i.e. towards the right, but without causing movement of slides 5 thanks to slot 11 in which pin 10 can be displaced. The slides thus have a delayed movement compared to that of cage 6. This delay is taken advantage of in the present invention to allow easy and reliable extraction of the capsule, as is now explained and illustrated below.
(36) In FIG. 7, the opening movement of the machine is continued and lever 2 is moved upwards. By means of rod 7 and gears 8, 9, cage 6 continues its retracting movement towards the right of the figure and capsule 3 is released from its hold. The movement of cage 3 and pins 10 brings them to the proximal end of slot 11, such that it is only at this time (as illustrated in FIG. 7, when pins 10 have passed through the length of slots 11) that the slides start their return movement into position (towards the right-hand side of the figure). Thanks to this delay in the actuation of slide 5 brought about by the displacement of pins 10 in slots 11, capsule 3, which is extracted from cage 6, is completely released without being held by slides 5, and it can fall out of the machine once it is sufficiently released from cage 6. This situation is illustrated in FIG. 8 where it can be seen that capsule 3 has started to fall downwards.
(37) FIG. 9 is a perspective and cross-sectional view of machine 1, in which the mechanism has returned to an initial position (for example as illustrated in FIG. 2), in which it can receive a new capsule 3. The two slides 5 can be seen here, which are located on each side of cage 6 with their slot 11, the cage having a pin 10 on each side also in accordance with the principles of the present invention. Slides 5 have been brought into the initial position by the movement of cage 6 and pins 10 in the slots.
(38) Another advantage of the delay in the movement of slides 5 brought about by the design of slots 11 and pins 10, apart from the fact that it allows a release of the used capsule, is that when a capsule 3 is present, slides 5 are not displaced immediately when cage 6 is advanced in the direction of plate 4 (situation illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3) with a view to the extraction, which ensures a good hold of capsule 3 in the initial phase.
(39) FIG. 10 illustrates another cross-sectional side view of the mechanism of the invention. This view permits the representation of an example of the means facilitating the ejection of a used capsule 3 out of cage 6. More precisely, the position of the mechanism illustrated in FIG. 10 corresponds to that of FIG. 2 when a new capsule 3 is introduced into machine 1.
(40) FIG. 11 corresponds to the position of the mechanism illustrated in FIG. 5 when the machine is ready for the extraction of the drink.
(41) FIG. 12 corresponds to the position of the mechanism of FIG. 7, when the mechanism starts to be opened to release a used capsule 3. Cage 6 starts its return movement (towards the right of the figure) and capsule 3 is pushed out of cage 6 by means of an ejector 12, which is fixed in machine 1 and along which cage 6 is displaced.
(42) FIG. 13 illustrates the stage during which capsule 3 falls out of cage 6 after opening of the mechanism. This stage corresponds to that illustrated in FIG. 8, but a little later when capsule 3 has started its fall into a capsule recovery unit from the machine.
(43) FIGS. 14 to 22 illustrate a second embodiment of the extraction machine according to the invention.
(44) In FIG. 14, which roughly corresponds to the position of FIG. 2 of the first embodiment, handle 2 is in a raised position (machine open) and a capsule 3 has been introduced into the machine and is held by slides 5′ and ejector 12. In this embodiment, this makes it possible to have a capsule 3 whose axis is aligned with that of cage 6, despite the fact that capsule 3, which is held by the flange, will have a tendency to tip due to its shape and the position of its centre of gravity with respect to the flange. Slide 5′ comprises a slot 11′ which slides on a pin or spindle 10′ of cage 6. An axle 20 is provided for the longitudinal guidance of cage 6. As can be seen by comparison with FIGS. 2 and 14, slide 5′ is offset towards the bottom of cage 6 in the second embodiment.
(45) FIG. 15 illustrates a position in which a lowering of handle 2 has been started and, by the set of gears 9, 8 and rod 7, cage 6 starts to advance towards the left of the figure, without moving slides 5′ on account of the presence of retarding slot 11′. Since ejector 12 also has a fixed position with respect to cage 6, capsule 3 is held in a stable position while cage 6 is displaced.
(46) As lever 2 continues to be lowered, the position of FIG. 16 is then arrived at where, since spindles 10′ have reached the end of slots 11′, slides 5′ are also displaced towards the left of the figure, together with cage 6. In the position illustrated in FIG. 16, the front ends of the slides are disengaged from the flange of capsule 3 and the latter is now held by extraction plate 4 and cage 6.
(47) FIG. 17 illustrates the near-extraction position when capsule 3 is almost disposed against plate 4 and slides 5′ have been completely advanced under the effect of the advancement of cage 6 towards the left of the figure.
(48) FIG. 18 illustrates the machine in the extraction position with cage 6 and plate 4 enclosing capsule 3.
(49) FIG. 19 illustrates the start of the retraction procedure of cage 6 after the extraction of the drink. The handle is raised and moves cage 6 backwards (towards the right-hand side of the figure). Despite the start of the retraction movement of cage 6, slides 5′ have not moved and it is spindle 10′ that is displaced in slot 11′. Capsule 3 is either already released from cage 6 or it is carried by the cage until it comes into contact with ejector 12 which pushes it out of cage 6.
(50) FIG. 20 illustrates the rest of the retraction procedure of cage 6 for the evacuation of used capsule 3. Handle 2 has a higher position than in the preceding figure and cage 6 has gone farther back (towards the right of the figure), now driving slides 5′ inasmuch as spindles 10′ have reached the proximal end (close to handle 2). The effect of any movement of cage 6 to the right is a corresponding movement of slides 5′ to the right.
(51) In the representation of FIG. 21, cage 6 has gone back sufficiently for capsule 3 to be able to fall out of cage 6, a fall which is illustrated by the position of the capsule shifted downwards compared to the preceding figure.
(52) Slides 5′ have not yet returned to their initial position (as illustrated in the FIG. 14), such that capsule 3 can fall freely.
(53) This falling movement of the capsule is also illustrated in a more emphasised way in FIG. 22 where the handle is in a vertical, or even near-vertical, position.
(54) In this position of the system, cage 6 is in its most retracted position and the ejector can be seen at the centre of the latter. The system can now receive a new capsule 3: the position is that of FIG. 14, but without a capsule having been introduced into the device. Once a new capsule 3 has been received, the extraction cycle begins again starting from FIG. 14.
(55) The invention is not of course limited to the methods of extraction described as illustrative and non-limiting and variations are possible within the scope of the claimed protection. It is also possible to freely combine the described embodiments depending on the circumstances.
(56) In particular, recourse can be taken to means equivalent to those described.
(57) The slides can be adapted in any way to the use according to the invention. For example, they can be made of plastic, synthetic material etc.
(58) It is possible to envisage other forms of technical means permitting the delay in movement of slides 5 instead of pins 10 and slots 11. It is possible for example to use a cam system or other system. The slides can be actuated for example by rod 7 or lever 2 rather than by cage 6 and its pins 10. Slots 11 can have any suitable size for achieving the sought result.
